Campaigners against a Tesco store that has been the focus of rioting have won the right to have the granting of planning permission for the shop reviewed.

The protesters claim Bristol city council was wrong to give the go-ahead to the Tesco Express store in Stokes Croft. They will be able to put their arguments before a judge after they were granted a judicial review.

Violence broke out around the store, close to Bristol city centre, over three nights earlier this year after police raided a nearby squat, claiming there were plans to petrol-bomb the store. Bins and skips were set alight and missiles thrown at police officers.

While the violence attracted headlines, members of the group No Tesco in Stokes Croft have been fighting against the store through the courts.

The group is against the siting of the Tesco, believing it will harm local independent shops. The judicial review will focus on a narrow element of the planning permission granted by the city council concerning the installation of equipment at the store. But the group hopes it will be able to bring in wider arguments about the shop and the community.

The review will probably take place in the autumn and will be carefully watched by other groups against supermarket development around the country.

Claire Milne, lead campaigner, said it was a bittersweet success. "It is ridiculous how much time and effort it has taken us just to get to this point," she said.

Earlier this week, the group held a peaceful No Tesco Tea Party in Stokes Croft to try to demonstrate that it and the community at large were intent on fighting against the store without violence.

Milne said the event had been successful. "Justice can be done by following due process. There is no need to resort to violence," she said.

The Tesco Express store closed following the riots but has since reopened with the supermarket group arguing that local people and businesses wanted it.

A spokesman for Tesco said: "This judicial review is about the decision to allow the installation of plant equipment not about whether our popular local store should be open. The judicial review is against Bristol city council and we are confident we have followed all proper procedures. Our team are doing a great job serving hundreds of customers every day."

The council said it was confident all proper planning procedures had been followed.